An optical microstructure is configured to work with an optical fiber or a different substrate and the optical microstructure includes a beam converter including a tapered optical guide configured to transform a gaussian optical beam into a first annular optical beam; an inverted cone having first and second reflection surfaces, each configured to reflect the first annular optical beam, having a radius R1, so that a resulting second annular optical beam has a radius R2 larger than the radius R1; and a prism having a reflection surface configured to reflect the second annular optical beam to form a third converging annular optical beam. The third converging annular optical beam includes plural single optical beams that intersect at a given crossing point, outside the optical microstructure. The plural single optical beams form an optical trap.

A semiconductor device includes a first insulating film, a first optical waveguide and a second optical waveguide. The first insulating film has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first optical waveguide is formed on the first surface of the first insulating film. The second optical waveguide is formed on the second surface of the first insulating film. The second optical waveguide, in plan view, overlaps with an end portion of the first optical waveguide without overlapping with another end portion of the first optical waveguide.

A method for manufacturing an optical fiber emitting plasma light includes a coating removal step of removing a coating of an optical fiber; a photocatalyst application step of applying a photocatalyst to an end surface of a core layer of the optical fiber from which the coating has been removed through the coating removal step; and a molding step of molding the end surface of the core layer into a curved surface by applying a laser to the core layer of the optical fiber applied with the photocatalyst through the photocatalyst application step. The method for manufacturing an optical fiber including the above processes may be effectively used for therapy such as plasma disc coagulation therapy (PDCT) by converting the applied laser light into plasma light.

An optical processing structure of an optical fiber, includes: an optical fiber that includes a core, a cladding, and a coating, the coating being partially removed; and a thermally conductive protective material made of a silicone-based thermally conductive compound and provided around the cladding in a coating removed region of the optical fiber. Further, the thermally conductive protective material contains a filler having a refractive index higher than a refractive index of the cladding, and the filler is present in a region where evanescent light seeping out of the cladding is present when cladding mode light propagating in the cladding is totally reflected.

An immersion probe system is provided for simultaneously performing first analysis of a first portion of light originating from liquids and/or particles in a fluid and second analysis of a second portion of the light originating from the liquids and/or particles. The system defines an optical axis and includes a first component including a first analyzer, a window, and a first optical path extending between the window and the first analyzer. The system also includes a second component including a second analyzer, the window, and a second optical path extending between the window and the second analyzer. The system further includes a spectral selector placed in the first optical path and in the second optical path to direct the first portion of the light, which originates from the liquids and/or particles and passes through the window, to the first analyzer, and to direct the second portion of said light to the second analyzer. The system includes an illumination path that delivers illumination light or lights based on a beam(s) that passes through the window at an oblique or normal angle to the optical axis. The first component and the second component share a common optical path at least between the window and the spectral selector.

A terminated hollow-core optical fiber includes an outer capillary having an end-face, a hollow-core optical fiber having a fiber-end located inside the outer capillary a non-zero distance away from the end-face of the outer capillary, a fiber jacket disposed on a surface of the hollow-core optical fiber, and an inner capillary disposed between the fiber jacket and an inner surface of the outer capillary. The inner capillary holds the hollow-core optical fiber via the fiber jacket such that the fiber-end protrudes from the inner capillary and is suspended inside the outer capillary. The terminated hollow-core optical fiber further includes an endcap adjacent the end-face of the outer capillary. This configuration positions the sensitive and potentially fragile fiber-end close to the endcap in a protected environment, while avoiding direct contact between the fiber-end and other mechanical structures, and can be realized without fusing anything to the light-transmitting surfaces of the endcap.

Light disinfecting systems are provided in which light emanating from an end or side of optical fibers is used to disinfect a target site. According to one implementation a light beam emanating from an end emitting optical fiber is directed into a body that includes a plurality of optical surfaces that are configured to direct at least a portion of the end emitted beam of bacterial disinfecting light to the target site. The assembly may further include a substrate coupled to the body, the substrate including one or more channels in which reside one or more radially emitting optical fibers that are configured to radially emit bacterial disinfecting light towards the target site, the substrate being at least partially transparent to the bacterial disinfecting light.

A tapered fiber optoacoustic emitter includes a nanosecond laser configured to emit laser pulses and an optic fiber. The optic fiber includes a tip configured to guide the laser pulses. The tip has a coating including a diffusion layer and a thermal expansion layer, wherein the diffusion layer includes epoxy and zinc oxide nanoparticles configured to diffuse the light while restricting localized heating. The thermal expansion layer includes carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) configured to convert the laser pulses to generate ultrasound. The frequency of the ultrasound is tuned with a thickness of the diffusion layer and a CNT concentration of the expansion layer.

A process of making a diverging-light fiber optics illumination delivery system includes providing a micro-post comprising a glass-ceramic light-scattering element that includes at least one of a ceramic, a glass ceramic, an immiscible glass, a porous glass, opal glass, amorphous glass, an aerated glass, and a nanostructured glass; and fusion-splicing the glass-ceramic micro-post to the optical fiber by pulling an arc between electrodes across a gap formed by the optical fiber and the glass-ceramic micro-post; maintaining the arc for a time sufficiently long to make facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the micro-post one of malleable and molten; and pushing and thereby fusing together the facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the micro-post. Some embodiments can include fusing the glass-ceramic micro-post to the optical fiber by applying a laser beam to heat up at least one of the facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the glass-ceramic micro-post.

A shroud includes a first end portion configured to slidably receive a bulkhead adapter and a second end portion configured to slidably receive an optical fiber connector. The first end portion includes an inner surface having ribs configured to engage the bulkhead adapter in an interference fit relationship, the second end portion includes an inner surface having ribs configured to engage the optical fiber connector in an interference fit relationship, and the shroud permits the optical fiber connector to be coupled directly with the bulkhead adapter in a push/pull engagement/disengagement relationship.